Rotating explosion-engine.



No. 895,653. PATENTED AUG. 11, 1908.

R. G. MARKS.

ROTATING EXPLOSION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1906.

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/ I V 1 t A TTORNE ys NIT D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROY CLIFTON MARKS, OFSAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-EIGHTH TO R.H.

GUNNIS, ONE-EIGHTH TO OLIVER-I. WINSTOX, AND ONE-EIGHTH TO W. W.

AIL OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

WHITSON,

ROTATING EXPLOSION-ENGINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RoY CLIFTON-MARKS, a

citizen of theUnited States, residing at Sanv Diego, in the county ofSan Diego and State of California, have invented a new and usefulRotating Explosion-Engine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an internal combustion engine of that type inwhich the cyl inders and pistons-rotate about a stationary crank shaftand relates more particularly to a two cycle explosion engine of thischarthe type referred to, so as to produce a high efficiency and toobtain a simpleand effective control.

A further object of the invention is the employment of a separate fuelpump for each Working cylinder whereby the charges are delivered to thecylinders in a positive vmannenthe arrangement of the pump and workingcylinders being such that a simple and substantial construct-ion 1sproduced.

, A still further object of the invention is the provision of ainulti-throw crank shaft made up of sections so connected that therelative position of the pump pistons with respect to the pistons of theworking cylinders can be changed, either while the engine is idle or inoperation, for effecting the discharge from.

the pumps to their respective cylinders at the proper period.

With these objects in view, and others, as

will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, theinvention comprises the various novel features of construction andarrangement of parts, which Will be more fully described hereinafter andsetforth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate certain of theembodiments of the invention, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of oneform of the invention. Fig. 1 is a 'fragmentarysectional view of thehi'ngeco'nmotion between the two sections of the crank shaft of theengine. Figs. 2 and 3 are,

respectively, a front elevation. and a verticalsection of the fuelormixture distributing Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

valve, drawn on an enlarged scale. Figs. 4 and 5 are, respectively,afront elevation and a vertical section of the inlet chamber assoshowing the muffler of one of the cylinders and the means for completingthe circuit of the individual spark plugs.

Corresponding parts in the several figures a are indicated throughout bysimilar. characters of reference.

Referring to the drawings, ar d more par-.

ticularly to Fig. .1, 1 designates the side bars of the supporting frameor yoke of the engine, on which bars the crank shaft 2 is supported inbearings 3. In the present instance, the crank shaft is of the two-throwtype and made .up of two substantially s imi-" lar sections hinged orpivoted together, as by a pin 4 at their inner or crank arm ends. Theleft hand section 5 is held stationary'ion the sup orting frame by a key5'. The sectiorf 6 of t e crankshaft is revolubly'mounted in the righthand bearing 3 for the purpose of changing the angular relation of thecrank arms 7 and 8 to which are respectively connected the power andpump pistons. At the outer end of the section 6 is rovided an adjustinglever 9 whereby the sai section can be shifted one Way or the otherabout its axis for the purpose of varying the period of discharge'frornthe pump or pumps to the.

working cylinder orcylinders or to reverse the engine. The frictionbetween the parts of the hinged joint of the shaft sections=may besufficient to hold the section 6 inany ad justed position. able latch orlocking device may be used in connection with the operating lever 9 forholding the same stationary, as will be readily understood.

Each power or working cylinder 10 has associated with it apump cylinder11, the two being preferably formed as a single casting and having acommon removable head 12.

If desired. however, a suit-.

The cylinder castings, of which there are two in the constructionshown-in Fig. 1, are detachably secured at the open ends of thecylinders to the crank casing 13, thesaid casing being provided with,hubs 14 through which the crank shaft extends. y this arrangement,the'entire structure of the engine, save the crank shaft, is adapted tobe rotated by the impulses resulting from the explosions in the'severalworking cylinders. The

working cylinders are arranged in a commen plane, as are also the pumpcylinders, so .that the working pistons are connected to acommon crankpin. The pump pistons 16, which, like the working pistons, are of the 10trunk type, are also connected to a; common which at its inner endcommunicates with the mixture inlet chamber through the passage 19in thewall of the crank casing. The fuel mixture is drawn into each pumpcylinder through an automatically actuated valve 20, and from the saidcylinder the chargeis delivered to the working cylinder through aconduit 21 in the head 12, which conduit is controlled by the automaticvalve 22. The crank pins are so related that the pump will 3 deliver acharge to its comp anion working cylinder at about the time the pistonin the lattercylinder uncovers the exhaust port 23 and finish deliveringthe charge at about the time the exhaust ports are closed on thesucceed:

ing return stroke; By reason of the crank nicety.

A! I. l

* turen were shaft being made of two hingedly connected sections, theoperative relation of each pair of pump and working-pistol s to producethe best. effect can be determined with great The fuel mixture issupplied. from a suitable carhureting system through a supply conduit2+1 that discharges into an annular inlet chz'miber 25 formed in awasher or aper- The annular member 26 is ound the shaft section 6 and isheld stations-25 ,01 rather prevented. from ro tating, by any suitablemeans, such as, the p A 2st. Intermediate the member 26am; the wall ofthe crank chamber having the passages 19, is a disk valve 27 that keyedto the shaft section (5 so as to be angularly adjustable therewith. Thevalve 27, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, is provided with a segmental port28 through which the suction conduits 17 are periodically brought intocommunication with the inletchamber 25. The port 15 so proportioned asto properly distribute the fuel mixture to the several pumps, so thatthe tendency of one pump robbing another reduced to a minimum. Thisvalve 2? is formed with a hub 29 which ts in the central opening 30 ofthe member 26, Figs. and 5, so that the valve in said member will alwayshe centralized. The

I member 26 is held seated on the valve 27 and the latter is heldagainst the crank chamber wall by the helical spring 31 disposed aroundthe shaft section 6 and abutting at opposite ends, respectively, themember 26 and side bar 3 of the supporting frame. By this arrangement,the parts are capable of relative rotation without the leakage ofmixture. In an engine of the construction shown in Fig. 1, the chargesare admitted to the working cylinders alternately, so that twoequallyspaced impulses are produced during each-revolution. In an engine havinga greater number the explosions take'place in the successive cylindersone after another. Inordinary operation, the main piston or powercrankisarranged at an angle of approximately 90" to the pump crank, and byturning the adjustable section of the crank shaft which carries the pumpcrank through an arc of. 180 the direction of rotation of the engine maybe reversed. It is'not, however, necessary, or in fact desirable, thatthe pump crank-be at all times maintained at a right angle to theWorking crank, and it is found in practice that the engine'works bestwhen the pump'crank is located about 120". from the working crank, andif the two cranks are so relatively located, it will be necessary tomove the pump crank only through an arc of 120 to reverse the engine.

The correct angle of the pump crank with relation to the power crank canonly be deter mined by running the engine The angle is not the same inall engines, a difference in di 'ameter of cylinders, length of stroke,size of exhaust port, and number of revolutions per minute all tend toaffect the correct position of the pump crank.

There is no predetermined position of the cranks,and the-object of theadjustment is to permit find-ing of the correct position, and

to place the pump crank on the opposite side of the working crank and inthe same relative position thereto for reversing the engine.

' Due to the fact that the cylinders are adapted-t0 berotated, a partialvacuum is produced in the wake of each cylinder, and

of the exhaust gases, so that the discharge of the spent gases, in thepartial vacuum thus formed in the atmosphere, assists materially insilencing the exhaust. Furthermore, the

into the atmosphere, an impulse is given to the engine which is in adirection to assist the rotation of the latter, thereby adding power tothe engine. For this purpose, each cylinder is formed with an exhaustcompartment 32 which may be preferably cast. integral therewith, and isarranged at the exhaust port 23, as shown in Fig. 8, so as to receivewhen this pos tion is determined, to be able gases are discharged fromthe rear side of each cylinder so that as they forcibly issue ofcylinders, the admission of the charges and v this fact is takenadvantage of in the disposal the products of combustion directly fromthe latter. The Wall of the muffler compartment 32 is perforated with anumber of rearwardly discharging jet openings 33 by which the, exhaustgases are ejected into the atmosthefwakejpfthe engine cylinders, it

' medthatjthe engine is rotatin in on indicated'b y the arrow in fig.thei'lrnnfller arran ed in this manachcylind er, the e aust isconvenpsedof'without the need of a comy'stern of discharge conduits, andad vantage' Qf'increased ower of the .;.,f.engine.aiid.a substantiallynoise ess exhaust phages 1 The, igniting devices, may be of anysuitable,character and in the present instance ah,aprkingpflind r isprovided with a sparkingg lngiea andfeach plug carries a colrush,"35that,is adapted once in ass into engagement emery .i-e l iiip fo withacont'act 36. T e contact '36 is in the g-fornnof,an elongated platecurved in an arc lb andfsupported" by. an insulating block 37..

-;-Qne wirefof the hightensionside of the ignig. tiqnsystemis connectedwith the contact 36,

as indieated at 38,; andthe other is suitably ,onndedon the. enginestructure :Qooperatingjwith themechanism for elec- 3o ;tricallyconnecting the s arking plug to the circuit; is atime'r, more 0 earlyshown in Fig. K hiscomprisesa controller 39 formed of disk 10iinsulating material having a plurality; 0,. equally spaced metallicblocks40 seated in the eripherythereof. The blocks 40qare grour ed onthe en ine by means of wiresal extending from the blocks to the hub ofthe crankrcasing. Arranged to make con- 40 "ha'ving an anti-frictionroller 43 that bears on the periphery of the controller. The arm 42 ispivoted on a lever 44 that is sup orted on and insulated from the'sidebar 1 o the su porting frame adjacent the controller. T e spring 45anchored at oneend on .the timer lever, 44 bears at its free end on thearm 42 to maintain the metallic roller 43 in engagement with thecontroller. One side ofthe low tension or primary side of the ignitionsystem is grounded on the lever 44, so that the-primary currentpassesfrom the battery or other source and induction coil, through the wire46, the lever 44, arm 42, roller 43, controller 39 and the engine backto the batterv.v

Power is taken from the engine b y a pulley and belt, a gear mechanismincluding a clutch, if desired, or any other suitable means. The pulleyor gear is preferably keyed to the lefthand hub 1.4 of the crank casing.In the resent instance, the gear wheel 47 is shown. since the cylindersof the engine are ada ted to rotate, it will be found that the fiy W eeleffect of the c linders will, in most cases, be 65 suflicient, so t at aseparate fiy wheel will not .tac t-withthe controller blocks is an arm42 be necessary, although it is obvious that a fly wheel may be used, ifdesired.

In connection with an engine of the character described, a special formof lubricating system is requiredin order that the various working partsmay be satisfactorily lubricated; Since the cylinders and pistons rotatearound the stationary crank shaft, it is preferable to supply thelubricant underpressure by a pipe 74, Fig. 1, to a conduit 75.extendingthroughthe crank shaft, the crank arms and pins. Branches'76 supplylubricant tothe. bearings 14 of the'engine. The crank pins are providedwith branch conduits 77 that register with conduits 78 ex tendinglongitudinally of the piston rods.

These conduits 78 communicate with con.

duits 79 in the wrist pins 80 of the pistons. The pistons are aperturedin line with the conduits 79, so that lubricant can be supplied to thewalls of the pump and working 0 linders. the conduits 7 7 and 79 tolubricate the crank pin and the wrist pin bearings. B y thisarrangement, the cylinders, wrist )ins, crank ')lI1S, and bearings ofthe crank shaft are ef fectively lubricated from a single forced feeddevice. Although a lubricating system is not shown in the modified formof engine, depicted in Figs. 9 and 10, it is to be understood that asuitable lubricating system is to be employed.

I have described the princi le of operation of the invention, togetherwit 1 the apparatus which I now consider to be the best embodimentthereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown ismerely illustrative, and that such changes may be made, when desired, asare within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:-

1. The combination with an internal combustion engine comprising a crankshaft, a cylinder mounted to revolve about the shaft, a piston in thecylinder connected with the shaft, and a support for the crank shaft, ofa device revoluble with the cylinder for forcing the fuel chargesthereto, and a mechanism arranged to control said device for varying thetime of discharge of the fuel charges and for changing the direction ofrotation of the cylinder.

2. The combination of a Working cylinder, a piston therein, a pumpcylinder, a piston therein, acrank shaft composed of two relativelymovable sections, separate means for connectingthe work piston with onesection and the pump piston with the other section, and a device forchanging the relative position-of thesaid sections.

cylinders, a stationary means to which oneof the pistons is connected,and a stationary Sufficient lubricant flows out of means relativelyadjustable with respect to the first mentioned means and connected withthe other piston for varying the stroke of one'piston with respect tothe other.

4. The combination of a working cylinder, a piston therein, a pumpcylinder, a piston therein, means for rotatably mounting the cylinders,a two-part crankshaft, a connection between the working piston. and onepart of the shaft, a connection between the pumppiston and the otherpart, means for holding one of the parts stationary, and a device forangularly adjusting the'other part.

5. The combinationof a plurality of cylin-v "ders, pistons therein, anda crank shaft made of two parts and having crank pins to which thepistons are connected, and meansfor hingedly connecting the two parts ofthe crank shaft.

6. The combination of a crank shaft made of two parts and having a crankpin on each part, a lurality of cylinders mounted to revolve a out thecrank-shaft, pistons in the cylinders connected with the crank pins,

means for holding one part-of the crank shaft stationary, and a devicefor adjusting the other part of the crank shaft so as -to change theangular-relation of the crank in thereof withirespect to the crankpin ont e stationary part. I I

'4', The combination of a crank shaft made 'of two'parts and having acrank pin on. each part, a lurality of cylinders mounted to re-.

' yolvea out the crank shaft, pistons in the cylinders connected withthe crank pins, and

I a hinged connection between the parts of the shaft for permitting ofrelative angular adjustment of the crank pins.

I 8. The combination with a crank shaft, of

a plurality of cylinders mounted to revolve around the crank shaft, saidcrank shaft pistons in the cylinders, a crank shaft composed of tworelatively adjustable parts, con-- nections between the working pistonsand one of the parts, connections between the pump pistons and the otherpart of the crank shaft, and means for, adjusting the position.

of the parts.

10. The combination of a working cylinder and a pump cylinder mounted torevolve, a

stationary crankshaft made of two parts which are relatively adjustable,pistons in the cylinders connected with-the crank shaft,-

a suction conduit forthe pum cylinder which extends from apoint ad acentthe crank shaft to the head thelatter, an inlet plying a fuelmixture tothe suction condult,

and a valve keyed to the adjustable'part of the crank shaft forcontrolling the supply of mixture to the conduit.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

nor CLIFTON MARKS. Witnesses J. MoANn'aEw,

ERNEs'r C. FLEET.

chamber adjacent thev crank shaft folnsup-

